Machine for feeding and driving lacing hooks and the like



y 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 E. B. sTlMPsoN FiledDeCJe, 1922 Jur/4 MACHINE FORFEEDING AND DRIVING LACING HOOKSv AND THE LIKE Dec. 27, 1927.

ORNEY s sheets-sheet 2v Dec. 27, 1927., A

E. B. srIMPsoN MACHINE FOR FEING AND DRIVING LAGING HOOKS AND THE LIKE Filed Deo. 9, 1922 13a Si).

I IXENTOR BYn Dec. 27, 1927.

E. B. sTlMPsoN MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND DRIVING I ACING HOOKS AND THE LIKE Filed Deo. 9. 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 5 1N 0R BY A'To NEY i c ,c Patented Dec. 27, i927. f 13pdlltr uuirnn stares PATENr i EDWIN B. STIMPSGN., OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO EDWIN B. STIMPSON COMEANY, F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

MACHENE FOR FEEDING AND DRIVING LACING I-IOOKS' AND THE LKE.

Application lefl December 9, 1922. Serial No. 605,832.

This invention relates to machines for ing operation. So dinicult is it to overcome sett-ing lacingl hooks or the like in leather entirely the effects of such vibrations in or other sheet material, and more particucausingI the pick-up Wheel to lose a certain larly provides a new and improved type 0f proportion of the picked-up hoolf-:s bei'ore 5 5 hook setting` machine including a` hoppel` the latter are discharged to the upper end for holding` a collection oil hoolsin random of the raceivay, that the frank admission is relation, a hooit-drivingl spindle at a point made here Without apology that the new remote from the hopper, and sorting and pick-up Wheel, as important an advance over conveyinsor means for such hooks intermedi the prior art as the same is thought to be, 60

l0 ate hopper and spindle. loses a certain proportionoii the piclred up is will be understood from what follows, hooks indeed the fact oi 'such loss small the invention is of particular valueand has as it is compared to previous losses, is what preferred application in connection with a brings necessarily into the new combination machine 'for setting lacing; hooks, in which the second of the cooperant mechanisms 65 machines it has beenconimon to employ a.. above mentioned. Said second oit the new pick-up Wheel rotated through such collecmechanisms includes means automatically tion and provided with a plurality oi transpredeterminedly to engage the lowermcst v lrse openings the edges of which openings hook in the raceway and forcibly 'thrust serve to collect the hooks by engaging the said hooks directly into a special receivingl 70 hooked portions oi? `the `lacing hook, and in recess on the bottom of the spindle, such which machines it is Well-linoivn to employ means also preferably at the saine time holdgravity raceway to receive the hooked poring the remaining` hooks in the raceivay tions oi" the lacing;l hoolrs as the latter are aivay from the spindle. nly by the comdischarpe 'from the openings in thepiclr-up bined provision of the new pick-up wheel 75 wheel. i i and the nen7 means just mentioned, it will lt is the prime object ot this invention t0 be seen, may dependence be placed on the provide in such lacingl hoolr setting,I machines spindle-recess receiving a single hook on the an apparatus ior insiving` the feeding O retraction of the spindle alter each driving one hook at a time to the driving spindle stroke thereof, becauseY While the nenv piclso 3U and -for insurii the accumulation ot a up Wheelmay absolutely be depended on to column ci sorted hooks. adjacent the spin maintain a surplus of hooks in the raceway, dle i'for such feeding. The invention thus such surplus is not always established as a involves the provision of a novel group of column of suliicient height and Weight to cooperant mechauisnis.` The irst of such insure that the lowermost hooks will pass 85 mechanisms is a new andfimproved picl-up by gravity from the lower end of the racewheel necessarily a part of the complete Way into the spindle recess. new coniibinatiou ot all such mechanisms, as Various other cooperant mechanisms, chief characteristic oit this new 1Wheel is forming parts of the new combination, are that a large enough number oit the picliedpresent as will be more fully explained here- @D l0 up hooks Will be p05' l' @ly retained on the inat'ter; such .mechanisms including` particuwheel for certain delivery to the upper end lai-ly a novel spindle construction and spino the raceway, as to insure that s surplus lle-driving Connection adapted t@ HG1-d column oi? sorted bool-rs at the lower end oi sin-1pts mea-ns for permitting the spindle to the raceway will always be for cooperation pause when and for as long,` as required to sa with the second oi 'the' cooper nt mechapermit operation of the thrusting,- means nisms oi the combination. ln connection bwa mgnyoned, md also including means Witll l'lld ll`\`\' lllilCi'ilOll Of JL'llQpFGSGHt plCk- Quipd the Spindle fol plevntug 105s up Wheel as just described, .it Will be under-y of any hooks trom the racevvay during` a dood that the inevious lacl-t of such a Wheel driving and return operation of the spindle, 100 has been serious, due to the excessive vibraas Well as means, also preferably carried by ol' the entire hook-setting machine durthe spindle', for holding` a` single hook set exactly as provided in the receiving recess in the bottoin of the spindle during the driving stroke of the latter.

Other objects and aims of the invention, more or less broad than those stated above, together with the advantages inherent, will be in part obvious and in part specifically referred to in the course of the following description of the elements, combinations and arrangement-s `of parts and applications of principles constituting the invention; and the scope of protection contemplatedwillappear from the claims.

i In the accompanying drawings, which are to be taken as part of this specilication, and

in which I have shown merely a 'preferred forni `of embodiment of the invention:

Figure l is a front elevation thereof; Figure12 isa 'fragmentary view showing certain of the parts of Figure `l in vertical section; i V 1 Figure 3 is a similar view showing the driving spindle and the anvil, partially in side elevation and partially in section;`

Figure Il is an enlarged detail yview,.tal-;en on the line il of Figurel, showing the hooks held against exit from the raceway by the exterior of the plunger;

Figure 5 shows the parts of Figure 'l, but redisposed;` 1 .y l

Figure 6 is a side elevation of the complete structure of Figure `l;

Figure? is an enlarged detail view, show ing a. portion ofthe raceway; v

Figure 8 is a transverse section, talren on the line S--S of Figure 7 l Figure 9 is a detail view similar to Figure 5, but on a slightly `reduced scale relative to the latter figure, and showing the cut-off or thrusting means; e

Figure 10 is alvertical section, taken on line 10-*10 of Figure 9; and

Figure l1 is a` perspective view, showing the parts of Figure). n l l z f Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several viewslof t heidrawings.

- Referring to the details of the drawings, and particularly to Figures l, 2 and 6, any

. suitable support l may be provided for a head 2-having a main web 3, a lower extension 4 and an npper extension 5. Extension l adjustably mounts, in a cylindrical enlargement 6, a hook set or anvil' while extension 5 is `shaped to guide a driving spindle 8, removably held in place by a plate 9.

This driving spindle is suitably recpro cated, as from a treadle not shown, by a link lOconnected to a lever 11 pivoted at l2 on lugs 13 on the top of head 2, incident to the provision of a pair of short links 13 connecting the front end of lever 11 and thetop of the spindle. i

A bracket `14 on one side of the machine carries a hook hopper l5, having a hinged cover lli; and mounted to rotate within the hopper is a pick-up wheel 17 forming one of the important elements olI` the present invention due to its peculiar construction as hereinafter explained. 'lhis wheel is lined on a rotatable stud i8 between washers i9. The parts 17 and lll are rotated intermittcntljf with a ratchet 20 also fast onsaid of the arro shown in Figure 6.

lteferringnow to the peculiar'` construo tion of said pick-up wheel, it will be Iseen that thesame has, in addition to xthe eight eqnidistant openings 25, a particularly novel structure in that each opening or pocket has a narrow elongate passage 26 opening there end at the periphery of the wheel, cach such passage being established by an inwardly directed linger 27. lt will further be noted that each of such eight collections of elements 25, 26 and 27 is so designed that the curved wall of the generally pear-shaped pocket 25 near its inner portion of greatest width `merges smoothly with the inner end of the wall of its passage 25 against which .into at its inner end and open at its outer a hook or hooks 29 are to be transferred to u hangrtherefroln by gravity when such hook approaches the location 9.9 of Figure G. From that point on a hook then on the wheel cannot possibly be jarred or kicked loose irrespective of the vibratory shocks occurn ring. l.

Thus, in operation, Vthe new pick-up wheel may always be relied on to retain all its picked-up hoolrs which have been transport- `ed asfar as the location 2D, and to deliver all such hooks to the point BO of F lgure 6 and consequently to the hopper crit 3l of Figure l, for delivery to the upper end of the gravity track or raceway 3Q. It will he understood that the shaping of the parts and the presence of fingers `Q7 insure this important result, and thus one of the very serious defects inprevions feeding nicchanisms is absolutely overcon'ie; as it will `be apneciatedthat by the above described an rangement of parts and the hereinafter described cooperant mechanisms for insuring the transfer of one hook at a time from the lower end of the raceway, there will always hooks lor snelr ments formingl 'parts of the spindle S itself, and parts associated with the lower end of raceway 32, thereby to insure the transfer of one rivet at a time to the lower end of the spindle at the end of each 11p-stroke of the spindle.

The parts last mentioned are operated from lever ll, by means of a secondary lever 33 having a forlred upper end and actuated by lever ll through a stud 34 on the latter which lies within such fork. Lever 33 Works through a wire or rod spring 35, bent as shown most clearly in Figure 6 to act also as a yieldable intermediary toprevent in jury to the hook or machine on any inadvertent jamming of a hook or member 36 forming one of said parts at the lower end of the raceway. This member is secured to the lower end of spring 85, and is moved back and forth, by `a well-known kicking action of such spring, as the lever 33 rocks baclr and forth, thus causing `the shaped outer nose of the member 36' to be intermittently retracted as shown inFigure 1l and `thrust to its outward limit of trave-l as shown in Figure 5', in timedrelation to the up and down strokes of spindle 8.

Thisl member 86, as shown best in F igur`es9, l() and ll, thus works back and forth relative toa slotted way cut in a bracket 3T to that end said member being carried by a bloclr 38 directly slidingly litted in the way, below a suitable cover plate 37a. Member 36 is really a lever, being pivoted at its inner end at 39 within a longitudinal slot l0 formed in the upper surfacev of block 38. It will be noted that this slot is of greater width than member 3G, and that said member is normally yieldably held to one side of such slot as shown in Figures 9r and l0, by means of a leaf spring Zl1. Cover plate 3T, which is held in place by screws 42, is provided with a slot Il?) yto accommodatethe lower end of spring 35 in causing the described movements of member 3G.

Before any particularized description of the manner in which said member 3G works, it is in order to describe certain other parts provided adjacent the lower end of "acelway 32 and particularly the special and novel construction of spindle 8.

Referring particularly to Figures 3, 9 and ll, such spindle is made in two parts, the upper part 44 of which is tubular inits lower portion. separate piece 45, and the same has apreduced upper extension 46 fitting within the hollow lportion of spindle part 44. These parts 44C and 45 are yielda ly held in the relation illustrated by means of `a retractile coil spring i7 stretched between an eye at the upper end of the lower spindle p iece and a cross-pin 48 in the upper spindle piece. Thev lower spindle piece is provided with a keyway` 49, kept by ar keying screw 50, to

The lower spindle part is al hold the spindle parts against relative rotatron. The lower end of the lower spindle piece is out out to provide a recess or pocket 5l to receive the head of a hook, and a plate 5i, forms the bottom. wall of such pocltetto lie between the jaws of the hook forming the head to prevent such hool; from being crushed during the driving operation.

The operation of the parts just described, 1n combination with the member 36 and its appui-tenantdevices, may now be'given. It will be observed, most clearly perhaps from Figure l, that the lower spindlepiece d5 is so shaped and disposed relative to the lower end of raceway 32, that the same etfectuallly holds the column of sorted hooks the raceway against egress therefrom after the spindle has received one of the hoolrs and while such spindle is thereafter descending for a driving oiieration relative tothe lastmentioned hook and until the spindle rises again sufficiently to bring its pocket 5l into alignment with the raceway as shown in Figure l. G'n reaching such position, the

spindle is automatically `hal-ted for a long enough interval, but of course a very brief one, to permit a. swift, sudden protrusion of the shaped nose of member from the position shown in Figure 4 to that shown in Figure 5, and a return of said member. This halting of thespindle. or rather of the lower piece l5 thereof, is brought about by the wall 52 acting as a stop relative to the underside of the racewa i; while the telescopic relation of the two spindle pieces and the presence of spring 47 permits this pausing of the pocket 5l to happen despite the operation of the lever ll in consonance with the even speed of the drivingl shaft or the like carrying the treadle above mentioned. Alsol the abnormal distentionr of the spring 47 in sures that the stop means described will hold true to its appointed function. During the halting of the pocket 5l opposite the lower j aw of the hooked head of the lowermost of the column sorted hooks at the bottom of raceway 32, and the simultaneous outtlrrust and retraction of the shaped nose of member 36, said nose engages the sleeve or hook proper of such lowermost hook and:` addsv the force of leaf-spring 41 to gravity acting on said hook and forcibly sweeps the lioolr into the spindle pocket, thus causing one hook to be surely transferred from raceway to pocket if the column of hooks in` the raceway is too short 'to permit gravity to act alone for bringing` about such transfer. At the same time the shaped nose of member 36 performs another very important function, because as the member noses in; between: the hook being delivered to` the pocket and `the nextadjoining hook in the column, member 36 holding' the latter hoolr well back, into the confines of the raceway and so prevents the latter from engaging any `part of the pocket lll() or the hook therein, to become .injured or crushed and so to bring aboutlthe `possible setting of an .imperfect hook at the next driving operation.` Il the lacing hoolr as itis `about to enter the pocket `or set should stick for an instant as the member 36 is moving iiorward, the leaf springfll will allow `the member to `move awaT and not crush the `hook before-it enters the pocket.

`In order to provide means tor holding thesingleihook thus delivered to the spin- `dle pocket set exactly as provided in the `pocket during the driving stroke ofthe `spindle, a lever .ispivotally mounted at 54; on the .spindle as shown best in Figure 3, the lower end ot this leverearrying a. shaped foot t'or the purpose `or engaging a `facing concavity ot the hook exterior as best illustrated in Figure 5; a spring 55 holding said foot inthrust toward `the spindle'pocket, except when as the upper end ot the lever is rocked toovereome the tension of spring 55, which rocking inovementoccnrs at fthe upper end oi each stroke of the spindle, due to the upper endet said lever engaging the cammed surface of a fixed plate 5G, all as shown most clearly in Figure 6.

Inasmuch as maniT changescould be made in the above construction and many apparentljyr widely different embodiments et niv invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the` accompanying `dinivings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Y Y p Itis also to bennderstood that the language used in the following claims is intended to Coverall the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said` to tall therebetween. i

I claim: i i 3 i l. In a. lacing hook setting machine, a twopart driving spindle, the lower part o'l said spindle being-mounted Jfor teleseoping movement relative to the upper part during each hook setting operation and havingI a recess i'or receiving a part of a lacing hook to be set, and means for feeding hooks to said recess. i l

2..In allacing hoolr setting machine, `a

`.inve-part driving spindle, the lower part oi' said spindle being resiliently andteleseopically related to` theupper part and having a recess ior receiving a part oi a lacing hook, and means Afor feeding hooks to said recess. i

each `hoolrsetting operation and having a ,i

recess for receiving a part of a lacinghook,

3. In a lacing hook` setting machine... a

a racewayfor feeding hooks to said recess, and a stop carried by the lower` part of said 4spindle adapted 'or` engagement. with the raceway.` f 1 l 4. In aelacinghook setting` machine, a driving spindle, a bit telescopically related `to said spindle,.and mounted forA telescoping movement relative to the spindle during each hooi; setting operatiomsaid bit having a recess for receiving part oi `a lacing hook, a. raceway :tor feeding hooks to said recess, and a stop carried by said bit adaptedifor engagementwith the raceway to arrest the `motion of thebitvwhile.thespindle continues its upwardmovement.,` L5. In `al lacing hook sett'ng machine, a driving spindle, a bit resilientlyand tele- `scopically related to said spindle, said bit `having a` recess for receiving part ot a lacing hook, a. raceway .for teedinghooks to `said recess, `and astop carried by said bit adapted for engagement with .the raeewa;r to arrest themotion ofthebit while` the spindle continues its` upward movement.

6. In a lacing hoolcsetting machine, 1a.

gravity raceway 'for guiding and feeding a column ot'` sorted hooks, a driving `spindle including .a bit having a lioolerecciving `recess` at its driving end, such recess having an opening adapted toassumea hoolereeeiving position adjacent to the exit of. the raceway when the bit is retracted a certain distance, a stopineans for` holding `the bit when thus retracted, operating means 'for reciprocating said spindle, said spindle always `engaging said bit above the recess to reciprocate the. bit with the spindle at each driv- .ing stroke, and means permitting the spindie to move relative to the bit during each i retraction stroke when the stop means functions to holdthe bit as mentioned, said bit and spindle being coupled intelescopic rela- `tioii with a retractile spring tending to torce .said bit and spindle together during the entire retracting stroke `ol said spindle. 7. In a lacing hooi; setting machine, a driving, member having `a hook-receiving recess, a raceway tor `feeding hooks to said recess, a slide member, a groove in the slide,

a picker mounted on a pivot pin in `the groove, and a spring mounted in the groove to normally press the` picker against. one side of the ,groove so that it :travels in a straight line, but permitting lateral yielding of the picker should a rivet become jammedinfthe raceway. ,i

8.@In a lacinghoolr machine, a driving member` `having a hook-receiving recess, a raceway for feeding hooks to said recess, a reciprocatory member, and a picker pivotallv mounted on` said member provided with a bevelednose "for engaging and pushing a hook into said recess. p v

`In testimony whereof I aiifixmv signature.

nnwin n. sriMPsoN."

iis 

